Just got my first buttons ever... no clues on color. Help!

Hey guys! This is my first foray into birds of any sort. My friend picked these up for me as she knew I was really wanting button quail, and I just brought them home two days ago. I have been researcing for a while about their care and am going to keep reading things on this forum becasue I'm totaly smitten with these guys and want to make sure I'm caring for them properly.

According to their hatch date, they are exactly 8 weeks old today, and I wanted to get them paired out. I was told I have two males and two females, but I would like second opinions. I also would like to know what colors I have. Also, are there any good sites for quail genetics that I should check out? Thanks in advance for any responses.


1. Supposed male, my guess would be a blue faced something or other?

2. Supposed female and my current favorite, my guess is cinnamon something?

3. Also a supposed female... I think she is a splashed of some sort, her splashes are that gray color on the back of her neck.

4. Supposed male... not real sure about him. I almost want to say Darth Vader but I'm not sure how unusual that color is, so I'm sure it's something else.


And last question, how would you pair these guys?

Thank you!

1) Blue face male, yes. I don't see any rusty vent feathers, but I assume they are there.

2) My first thought was actually male because of the bib, but on second thought I might be wrong. The bib(light area on the chin) corresponds with the markings in wild colored males, but a true 'bib' is supposed to be white. You can see pictures of cinnamon males and females here: http://featheredobsessions.com/CBBQ_-_CINNAMON.php - it doesn't have much in common with the males there, apart from the light bib. But even without the bib, it's not quite like the females. Maybe.. Cinnamon golden pearl or cinnamon red breasted(https://floridabuttonquail.wordpress.com/gallery/#jp-carousel-485)? Does it have rusty vet feathers? If yes, it is a male. If no - female.

3) White buttons can't be sexed by feather color, so that's a tough one. It might not even show typical sex-related behavior yet, if it is just 8 weeks. And even if it does, in my experience, females can make a sound very similar to the males crow, males might lie down when approached by a female, the same way females lie down to be mounted by the male, and females might present food items to each other like males do to their partners.. So even going by behavior is tough. I'd just put it by one you are certain is male and watch for eggs ^^

4) Male, yes, Darth Vader.. Perhaps? Looks somewhat red breasted to me too. But with the light area on top of the beak - maybe some golden pearl in it? Dunno.

Good luck with your new buttons, they look lovely!